How to Study Properly and do Well on Your Test

It's sort of aggravating reading the various articles on this subject. Half of them claim that you will ace your test, while the other half claims that you will ace your test without studying at all. Getting a perfect score on a test is pretty tough and I do not know where they attended high school or college, but at any decent school, doing well on a test will require work; unless you have a photographic memory which some do. Proper study habits are key to doing well on tests. Remember the saying, "success is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration". The saying means that success is accomplished by hard work.

Instructions

1. The first things you need to do are the obvious ones. Pay attention and take notes. Doing these two things will get you halfway there, but that would only be a 50 and that is still failing. It's the other skills we will discuss that will put you over the hump.

2. Review your notes every night. Depending on how much info this is, do not study for longer than 10 minutes at a time. Your brain remembers beginnings and endings better than the middle. By studying in small increments it increases the number of beginning and endings thus the more information you will retain.

3. Some people like to rewrite their notes. It's not a bad idea but I always found it sort or boring. I would rather read my notes out loud. Hearing the actual notes restated was like having the lecture all over again. Remember, short studying sessions. Make it casual. Reading your notes weeks before your test will cause you to have less anxiety and allow you to retain more.

4. I have a friend that likes to sing his notes. There's something about songs that act like word glue in your mind. I can remember a song I heard in the 1st grade on a field trip but sometimes have trouble remembering what my wife told me to do 15 minutes ago. Did anyone have to memorize the preposition song; it is branded into my brain.

5. I especially like to learn by association. If I am trying to learn, lets say, the difference between heterotrophs and autotrophs. Heterotrophs utilize organic material for food and energy. In this case I would say (in my mind of course) "he" likes organic food. The "he" comes from "he"terotroph. I would automatically know that auototrophs don't utilize organic food for energy by process of elimination. These techniques can seem silly when you say them out loud but are super helpful.

6. Study groups are also a very good idea. Study groups usually make you quiz each other or say your notes out loud and ask questions. If you have any questions, someone in your group is bound to have the answer. They may also have some neat tricks on remembering things.

7. Try not to cram the night before a test. If you have been reviewing your notes every night, then the night before the test should be just another night of short review. A relaxed mind is an efficient mind.

8. Remember to rest and eat a good breakfast. Harvard studies show that students who ate breakfast were more attentive and had better math scores. Try these different studying practices to do well on your next test.